#6 - In Bloom

For our sixth project, "In Bloom", we collaborated with Canterbury Museum to commemorate the February 22 earthquake. In September 2015, we invited the tamariki (children) of Canterbury to submit their poems inspired by their experiences. The Poetica judges had an extremely difficult task in selecting the winning poem - the caliber of entries was outstanding and the poems were poignant, heartfelt, and powerful.

On 22 February, 2016, "Reasons to Carry On" by Daisy was announced as the winning entry. Daisy's poem, inspired by the bond between her and her sister, was painted on a window in the Canterbury Museum by local artist Becky Franks and was part of the In Bloom exhibition which also included a river of flowers assembled by primary school children from across Canterbury, and readings by local authors and poets. On the day, Daisy and some of the other finalists read their poems aloud. Sarah and Grace Lawrence also performed a beautiful composition that was inspired by Daisy's poem (you can hear this on the SoundSky app).

Many thanks to our team of judges for selecting our winning poems, all the children who sent in their poetry, Daisy and her whanau, Sarah and Grace Lawrence, Becky Franks for her wonderful artwork, Resene Paints, the team at Canterbury Museum, and SoundSky for recording the project.